Adéwalé

"To fight beside a man so driven by personal gain and glory is a hard thing, Edward. And I have come to feel the Assassins - and their creed - a more honourable course."

―Adéwalé to Edward Kenway, 1721.

Adéwalé (1692 – 1758) was a former slave-turned-pirate from Trinidad, and later a member of the West Indies Brotherhood of Assassins. He was the father of Babatunde Josèphe, grandfather of Eseosa, and is an ancestor to Milton Jones.

In the early 18th century, Adéwalé served as Edward Kenway's quartermaster aboard the Jackdaw before eventually assuming the captaincy of his own vessel, the Victoire, and later the Experto Crede in 1735. That year, he briefly set aside his duties as an Assassin in order to aid the Maroon rebellion in Saint Domingue. Adéwalé was later killed in 1758 by the Templar Shay Cormac during the Colonial Brotherhood purge.

Biography

Early life

"I was born in Trinidad, a slave from my first breath."

―Adéwalé to Edward Kenway, on his early life, 1717

Born into slavery on Trinidad, Adéwalé recognized the oppression visited upon those who worked the sugar plantations, and frequently dwelt on means of achieving his freedom. However, the life of a fugitive slave was difficult and perilous, and Adéwalé was anxious about committing to such an existence.

However, a unique opportunity for escape presented itself in 1708, when pirates arrived at the plantation where Adéwalé worked and raided the storehouse. Killing his master and grabbing a crate of sugar, Adéwalé joined the pirates in their pillaging; while initially surprised at his presence, the pirates were nonetheless pleased to have his help, and welcomed him among their number.

For several years Adéwalé continued to sail with this crew, learning the skills of a proper pirate and seafarer. However, in 1715, the ship ran aground off the coast of Havana and he was captured by Spanish authorities. Due to Adéwalé being fluent in English, French and Spanish, his captors decided to send him to Spain to be an interpreter, and had him imprisoned aboard a ship in the Spanish Treasure Fleet for passage.

Life of piracy

Meeting Edward Kenway

Edward: "Now what's your plan, mate?"

Adéwalé: "Find my weapon and steal a ship."

—Adéwalé and Edward formulating an escape plan, 1715.

Adéwalé shackled alongside Edward Kenway

Not too long after his capture, Adéwalé found himself chained alongside the pirate Edward Kenway, who was also destined for Spain. Working together, the two were able to break free of their bonds and, after incapacitating a number of guards, procured themselves a ship, in the process freeing a number of likewise captured pirates who joined them.

Adéwalé chose a relatively small brig named El Dorado to make their escape, which was made all the more difficult by a sudden, powerful storm that struck the fleet. Ultimately, they managed to escape, while the remaining eleven ships in the fleet sank to the bottom of the sea.

Quartermaster of the Jackdaw

Edward: "It's true, most of these men wouldn't accept you as a captain. So what fair role would complement such unfairness?"

Adéwalé: "I'll be your quartermaster. Nothing less."

—Edward and Adéwalé assuming their roles aboard the Jackdaw, 1715.

Edward introducing Adéwalé to Hornigold and Thatch

With a ship in their possession, Edward renamed it the Jackdaw and, realizing that hardly any of the crew would accept Adéwalé as captain, dubbed him quartermaster. The two pirates then sailed for Nassau, a town that played host to a large number of their kind. There, Adéwalé was introduced to Edward's acquaintances Benjamin Hornigold, Edward Thatch and James Kidd, before returning to the Jackdaw in order to organize the crew his captain recruited.

During his time on the Jackdaw, Adéwalé served Edward diligently, ensuring the ship was in a seaworthy condition, keeping the crew organized and, wherever possible, pointing out locations and ships of interest. However, he became disillusioned with his captain's behavior over time, as Edward was more interested in the pursuit of spoils than in the democratic ideals of the Pirate Republic.

Search for the Observatory

Adéwalé: "I grow tired of chasing these fantasies of yours, Edward. As does the crew."

Edward: "Hang in there, man. We're getting close."

—Adéwalé voicing his disagreement with Edward's pursuit of the Observatory, 1719.

Edward and Adéwalé arguing about the Observatory

While Adéwalé could tolerate Edward's pursuit of riches, as it ultimately benefited the Jackdaw's crew, he strongly disagreed with his captain's search for the legendary Observatory, which he believed to be a fool's errand. However, he opted to keep these thoughts to himself, believing it was neccessary to do so if he wanted to maintain his role as quartermaster.

Following the collapse of the Pirate Republic in 1718, the Observatory became Edward's main objective and he teamed up with fellow pirate Charles Vane to locate Bartholomew Roberts, the Sage who could lead them to the Observatory.

Learning that Roberts was serving aboard a slave ship called the Princess, the pirates captured another slave vessel in the hopes it would lead them to the Princess. However, their plan came to a halt when Jack Rackham, Vane's quartermaster, staged a mutiny and had Edward and Vane marooned while taking Adéwalé captive, intending to sell him into slavery in Kingston.

With the help of James Kidd, Adéwalé eventually managed to overpower Rackham and retake control of the Jackdaw, sailing back to Edward's hideout at Great Inagua. There, Adéwalé was reunited with Edward after the latter escaped the island he had been stranded on by stealing a fishing schooner, and the two returned to their roles as quartermaster and captain, respectively.

Edward, Adéwalé and Roberts in Long Bay

After Edward managed to find Roberts and secure a partnership with him, Adéwalé became distrustful of his captain's new associate. He expressed his doubts to Edward, but the latter was too blinded by his desire to use the Observatory for personal gain and paid little attention to his quartermaster's warnings.

Eventually, in September 1719, Roberts led Edward to Long Bay, Jamaica, the location of the Observatory. While Edward and Roberts took to land, Adéwalé and the rest of the crew waited aboard the Jackdaw, but were soon attacked by Roberts' crew, who attempted to overtake the ship. Adéwalé took control of the Jackdaw and sailed her to safety, regretful for abandoning his captain, but believing he had made the right choice.

Life as an Assassin

Joining the Brotherhood

Edward: "Shall we set sail for- You're leaving?"

Adéwalé: "Aye, Edward. For I've another calling elsewhere. [...] When your heart and your head are ready, visit the Assassins. I think you'll understand then..."

—Edward and Adéwalé, discussing the latter's life change, 1721.

Adéwalé had first encountered the Assassins in 1716, when Edward visited the Assassin headquarters in Tulum on the request of James Kidd. He saw in them a kind who fought for something greater than themselves, which he greatly respected.

It was only in 1719, after spending four years as the Jackdaw's quartermaster, that Adéwalé, disillusioned with the pirate lifestyle, returned to Tulum and requested a meeting with Ah Tabai, the Mentor of the West Indies Brotherhood of Assassins. Speaking with the Mentor about the nature of the Assassin Order, Adéwalé began to believe it to be a calling that suited him. He then joined the Assassins, becoming a student to Ah Tabai, and began searching for the whereabouts of his former captain.

Adéwalé encouraging Edward to visit the Assassins

In 1721, word reached Tulum that Edward had been imprisoned in Port Royal, along with Mary Read and Anne Bonny. Adéwalé helped Ah Tabai to plot their rescue; while Mary died inside the prison, Ah Tabai was able to rescue both Edward and Anne. Adéwalé then traveled to Kingston to hand control of the Jackdaw back to Edward, and push his former captain onto a new path. From there, Adéwalé returned to Tulum.

Not long after his arrival, he was once again joined by Edward, who had elected to entertain the possibility that he could better himself by joining the Assassins. Together, the two pirates fought alongside Ah Tabai and his Assassins to repel the latest Templar attack on Tulum.

Afterwards, Edward set off to eliminate Bartholomew Roberts, as well as the Templars Woodes Rogers and Laureano de Torres y Ayala, to prevent them from misusing the Observatory. Adéwalé told Edward not to hesitate to call on his new quartermaster, Anne, for aid if he was ever at a loss, and the two parted ways.

Further adventures

The following year, Adéwalé traveled with Ah Tabai to the Observatory, where Edward had journeyed in order to assassinate Torres. Upon their arrival, they found the Templar Grand Master dead, and Edward standing before the Observatory's armillary sphere, with the Crystal Skull that powered the device in hand. The Assassins subsequently returned the Crystal Skull to its proper place and decided to seal the Observatory.

Adéwalé's last sail together with Edward

In September 1722, before Edward left for England, the pirate and Adéwalé sailed one last time together in order to recover the gold of a sunken Spanish vessel, the Polvora. However, while Edward was underwater in the diving bell, looking for the treasure, the Jackdaw and the crew were captured by the infamous pirate Ned Low. Threatening the lives of the crew, including Adéwalé, the cruel captain forced Kenway to lift the rest of the treasure back to the surface. Unfortunately for him, Edward trapped the bell which he had filled with barrels of gold but also with barrels of gunpowder found in the wreck. Eventually, Edward, Adéwalé and the Jackdaw's crew pushed the other pirates back on their own ship.

In October, Adéwalé, Ah Tabai, Anne, and Edward reunited on Great Inagua. There, Adéwalé informed Edward that Woodes Rogers had survived his assassination attempt and returned to England, bankrupt and humiliated, but no less a threat; Edward promised to deal with him once he had the chance. Before his own departure to England, Edward granted the Assassins full access to the manor on the island, as compensation for exposing the location of the Assassin bureaus to the Templars seven years prior.

In 1724, the West Indies Brotherhood intercepted an East India Company ship sailing from the South China Sea as it was passing through the Caribbean, and recovered a document mentioning the ruins of the lost city of the Khmer Empire, which was believed to be a Precursor site. Adéwalé considered that Edward, who by this point had found a number of similar sites, would be interested in the document, and asked a mutual Assassin contact to give it to him. The contact would later bring up Adéwalé during his meeting with Edward in London, causing Edward to briefly reminisce of his old friend, saying that Adéwalé was "such a nostalgic name."

Helping the Maroons

Crash on Saint-Domingue

Sailor: "Captain! More French vessels at our tail!"

Adéwalé: "Too many. We'll retreat through the storm."

Sailor: "We will be smashed ashore!"

Adéwalé: "A worse fate awaits if we let this land in Templar hands."

—Adéwalé giving orders to his crew, 1735

Throughout the years, Adéwalé became a skilled and feared seafaring Assassin. In 1735, he captained a brig called the Victoire and was tasked with eliminating a French admiral and Templar, whose ship was passing by Saint-Domingue. The Victoire engaged the French galleon and disabled it, allowing Adéwalé to board the ship, kill the admiral and recover parcel he was carrying, which was meant for Bastienne Josèphe. Shortly thereafter, the Victoire was surrounded by a French fleet and forced to flee through an approaching storm in order to escape.

Despite her crew escaping in time, the Victoire was wrecked and Adéwalé found himself washed ashore near the town of Port-au-Prince. It was here that he found himself confronted once again with the realities of the slave trade, which was increasingly prevalent in the French colony.

Adéwalé meeting with Bastienne Josèphe

Within moments of waking, Adéwalé was forced to save a fleeing slave from her pursuing overseer, cutting him down with a machete found on the beach. Grateful, the woman told Adéwalé that he could find Bastienne at a local brothel called the La Dame en Rose. Upon locating her, Adéwalé was reluctant to hand over the Templar parcel, and so Bastienne directed him to Augustin Dieufort, the Maroon leader, who could be found by speaking with her contact on a nearby plantation.

Locating the contact, Adéwalé was directed to the headquarters of the Maroon rebellion; upon his arrival, he found the resistance fighters being cut down by a contingent of overseers who had managed to locate them. Adéwalé killed the overseers and managed to prevent any from escaping with knowledge of the hideout's location. Augustin then offered the Assassin new equipment and upgrades in exchange for helping liberate any slaves he could before returning to the Brotherhood.

Supporting the rebellion

"Monsieur Adéwalé, the Maroon cause has made an ally of you. Augustin speaks highly of your help."

―Bastienne to Adéwalé, 1735

With the aid of a number of recently freed slaves, Augustin convinced Adéwalé to capture a docked slave ship, the Experto Crede, in order to free the slaves held beneath its deck en-masse. After completing the task, Adéwalé claimed the ship as his own, after which he agreed to train Augustin, his new quartermaster, in the ways of navigation and sailing so that he might captain the ship following Adéwalé's departure.

Adéwalé joining the slaves

Returning to Bastienne, Adéwalé was tasked with infiltrating Governor Pierre de Fayet's mansion, in order find out why the governor had recently become so strict in his enforcement of the Code Noir. Infiltrating the manor's grounds disguised as a slave, Adéwalé found the governor meeting with a scientist named Louis Godin, who was requesting funds for an upcoming expedition. Reporting back to Bastienne, she was upset that her informants had told her nothing of this expedition, and asked Adéwalé to learn more about it.

Investigating several leads around Port-au-Prince, Adéwalé discovered that the goal of the expedition was to map the circumference of the Earth, so as to provide the French with accurate geographical knowledge far surpassing that of its national rivals. This intrigued Adéwalé; as a sailor, the knowledge of navigation fascinated him, and he knew well that if the Assassins possessed such information, they would hold a significant advantage over their Templar rivals. Bastienne, however, was disgruntled with what little Adéwalé had learend about the expedition, and dismissed him.

Eventually, Bastienne's anger subsided. In order to help the Maroons and fulfill her promise to Augustin, she supplied a forged manifest listing the names of three literate slaves, with which the expedition needed to take notes. Adéwalé swapped the manifest and saw the French merchant ship, the Vautour, off from port. He quickly noticed the waiting pirate fleet however, and was forced to defend the expedition ship from them.

Pursuit of the slave ship

Bastienne: "Gouverneur de Fayet threatens retaliation."

Adéwalé: "Then he is behind this!"

Bastienne: "No. Adéwalé-"

Adéwalé: "Not another word! I don't want to hear it."

—Adéwalé and Bastienne arguing, 1737

Two years after Adéwalé's arrival in Port-au-Prince, the French were in a panic over the increasingly strong Maroon resistance, and the number of slaves being liberated by them. The French began to impose stricter curfews, as well as harsher and more frequent punishments. Adéwalé considered this a small price to pay, however, for the ultimate goal of Maroon independence. Angry, he left Port-au-Prince and set to sea in order to liberate another slave ship. This time however, the ship's French escort opened fire on her, disabling the ship and forcing her into a slow sink.

Adéwalé unchaining the slaves

Adéwalé went aboard the severely damaged ship and rescued as many slaves as he could. Eventually, the ship sank with Adéwalé still below deck, and he was forced to swim and climb his way through the vertical ship in order to escape.

On nearby Cumberland Bay, Adéwalé joined Augustin and Bastienne in burying the slaves that had not escaped the vessel's sinking. Adéwalé vowed to kill de Fayet, claiming his Creed demanded it, and that it would give an entire generation of warriors hope.

Assassination of de Fayet

"I feel a tide changing within me. I am no longer young. I must devote my energy to those who struggle for freedom. I will use my conviction in my Creed to defend them, alongside anyone who will help me."

―Adéwalé to Bastienne shortly before leaving Port-au-Prince, 1737.

Adéwalé giving the Precursor box to Bastienne

In July 1737, Adéwalé located the French governor on the grounds of his manor, torturing slaves in order to locate the Maroon hideout and the man freeing the slaves - Adéwalé. As he approached, Adéwalé was spotted and the governor fled through town.

Despite the overwhelming number of French soldiers and overseers in pursuit, Adéwalé eventually caught up with the governor and killed him with the very branding iron he had previously used to torture his slaves. As he died, de Fayet claimed that slaves were subhuman and would turn to violence without their masters' guidance, prompting Adéwalé to make the governor suffer by plunging his machete deep into his abdomen before finally ending his life.

With de Fayet dead, Adéwalé was forced to leave Port-au-Prince, since remaining would call both his and the Maroons' safety into question. Before leaving, he said goodbye to Bastienne and finally gave her the Templar parcel he had recovered two years prior, which contained a Precursor box; as Bastienne had no one to sell it to anymore, she elected to keep it as a memento. Adéwalé then decided he must devote his energy to those who struggle for freedom, using his conviction in his Creed to defend them along with anyone who helped him.

Later life

Aiding the Colonial Assassins

Achilles: "Tell me what happened, old friend."

Adéwalé: "It was terrible, Achilles. The ground shook, and the ocean waves crashed over Port-au-Prince..."

Achilles: "How many were lost?"

Adéwalé: "Thousands. No family was left untouched."

—Adéwalé and Achilles discussing the Port-au-Prince earthquake, 1752

Adéwalé reuniting with Achilles in 1752

During his time in Port-au-Prince in 1737, Adéwalé shared a night of passion with Bastienne; she became pregnant and eventually bore a son, naming him Babatunde. Adéwalé continued to serve the Assassin Order and, at some point, was assigned on a mission alongside fellow Assassin Liam O'Brien, who came to respect him greatly. Adéwalé returned to Port-au-Prince to offer aid following an earthquake in 1751. There, he met his son for the first time and took him to join the Brotherhood.

Discovering that Master Templar Lawrence Washington had stolen the Precursor box and the Voynich manuscript from the Haitian Assassin Mentor François Mackandal, Adéwalé sailed after him at sea. After reaching New York, he lost the Templars' trail. In 1752, at the suggestion of his son, he visited Achilles Davenport, Mentor of the Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins and another of Ah Tabai's former students. While there, he collected supplies for survivors of the Port-au-Prince earthquake, and warned Achilles that the Precursor box had been stolen by the Templars.

Adéwalé during the battle of Louisbourg

At the onset of the Seven Years' War, Adéwalé lent his support to the Assassins' French allies, launching several campaigns against the Royal Navy. During the Battle of Louisbourg in June 1758, Adéwalé attempted to destroy British reinforcements with fireships, but the HMS Pembroke was able to destroy them, forcing Adéwalé to retreat. However, his actions at Louisbourg had made him a target of the Templars.

Death

"You... have become... a monster, Shay."

―Adéwalé's final words, 1758

Later that year, the Experto Crede engaged a Templar ship, the Morrigan, near Vieille Carrière. Outmaneuvered, Adéwalé was forced to beach his ship. Preparing for a final stand, Adéwalé was confronted by Edward Kenway's son and Grand Master of the Colonial Templars, Haytham, along with the Assassin-turned-Templar Shay Cormac.

Adéwalé's final moments

Adéwalé and Haytham had a brief exchange regarding Edward, with Adéwalé claiming that Edward would be ashamed in his son for becoming a Templar. However, this distracted Adéwalé, allowing Shay to get close to the Assassin and engage him.

Fatally wounded during the ensuing struggle, Adéwalé told Shay that his death would do little to stop Achilles, who had found the means to locate the Precursor sites the Assassins sought. Before succumbing to his wounds, Adéwalé expressed regret in how far Shay had fallen to serving the Templars, declaring him a monster. Shay lamented that the claim may have been true.

Legacy

"That's Adéwalé. He was a slave who freed himself and hundreds of his brothers in the West Indies. That man's a living incarnation of the Creed."

―Liam O'Brien describing Adéwalé to Shay Cormac, 1752.

Adéwalé became a legendary figure among the Assassins, with his actions greatly strengthening the West Indies and Colonial Brotherhoods during the early-to-mid 18th century. He also became a key participant in the Maroon rebellion, freeing several slaves and recruiting people to the Maroon cause against the French Army. Eventually, Adéwalé became a figurehead of sorts for the Colonial Assassins, and his death at the hands of the Templars was a bitter blow to their morale. This undoubtedly weakened the resolve of his fellow Assassins in the Colonies, and perhaps helped to cause their destruction soon afterwards. The Assassins would not regain a foothold in the Colonies until the arrival of Edward's grandson, Ratonhnhaké:ton, who managed to revive the Brotherhood and tip the scales in the Assassins favor.

In 1757, Adéwalé's son Babatunde had a son of his own, Eseosa, who also joined the Assassins and eventually became an influential participant of the Haitian Revolution. Through Eseosa, Adéwalé is an ancestor to Milton Jones, an Abstergo Industries employee and donor of genetic material for Abstergo Entertainment.

Personality and traits

"Once again I almost felt overpowered with admiration for him."

―Edward Kenway, regarding Adéwalé.

Born into a life of slavery, Adéwalé was a stern and hardened individual. Unlike his captain, Adéwalé was more serious and less brash, acting as the voice of reason to Edward's grandiose ambitions. Nonetheless, he had a small sense of humor, as shown when he jokingly called the Observatory 'Captain Kenway's folly', due to Edward's selfish actions to seek the Precursor site. He was also a humble individual, deciding to have Edward captain the Jackdaw, despite Edward's inexperience as a captain.

Though Adéwalé had chosen a life of piracy, he found that when serving under Edward, he lacked the conviction to partake in an industry of dishonest work. After being introduced to the Assassins and the failure of Nassau, Adéwalé was opened up to the wisdom and nobility of the Assassins, and served them dutifully.

Due to the harsh treatment he had experienced as a slave, Adéwalé notably spoke out against it and even lost his composure. He was unwilling to cooperate with Edward once he realized he was bartering with Laurens Prins, a known slaver. Moreover, he also warned Edward not to fire at slave ships, worried about the lives below deck and was appalled at how reckless Charles Vane was, who fired blindly at the same. He also gave de Fayet a slow and painful death, when the latter disregarded the slaves as mere animals.

Despite having many disagreements with Edward over the latter's selfish actions, Adéwalé nonetheless held the captain in high regard, even towards the end of his life. He managed to convince Edward to turn to the Assassins as a way to amend his mistakes. When confronting Edward's son, Haytham, Adéwalé expressed disappointment in Haytham for becoming a Templar, and likewise mentioned that Edward would feel the same.

Equipment and skills

"You have the brand of a slave, the eloquence of a scholar... hands of a sailor... and an Assassin's hood."

―Bastienne Josèphe, 1735.

From his early years as a pirate Adéwalé acquired the skills required to survive aboard a ship, and was trained in terms of swordsmanship where he eventually became a capable swordsman and he was taught how to wield firearms.

He possessed considerable knowledge of seamanship, far greater than most others, which helped him to gain the position of Quartermaster on-board the Jackdaw. Throughout the passing years, he acquired skill in captaincy and proved able to pilot various ships across the Caribbean, including the Victoire and Experto Crede with exceptional ease, while also being capable of sailing in rogue waves and storms.

Additionally, Adéwalé proved to be a capable swimmer as he was able to hold his breath for a relatively long period of time, and was capable of fending off against various hostile sea creatures during his underwater explorations.

Upon joining the West Indies Brotherhood his skills increased immensely as he was personally mentored by the legendary Ah Tabai, where he was trained in the methods of stealth, combat, swordsmanship, freerunning, eavesdropping and pickpocketing. He was able to wield a variety of weaponry including Hidden Blades, swords, pistols, throwing knives, axes, muskets, smoke bombs, rope darts and a blowpipe, he proved able to Dual-wield several combinations of these weapons with excellent proficiency.

Through his training he grew to become a skilled freerunner as he was able to transverse through cityscapes as well as climb natural elements including branches with relative ease, a skill which he managed to retain even in his twilight years.

Adéwalé proved to be a highly adept hand-to-hand combatant as he was aided by his heavy muscular build after years of vigorous training. He was able to take down multiple opponents in battle with minimal effort, and could also utilize the environment to his advantage.

During his time in Saint-Domingue, Adéwalé became accustomed to using a machete and blunderbuss in combat, while he also added firecrackers to his other tools. By 1752, he opted to carry a flintlock pistol and a knife instead. In addition, Adéwalé possessed the extra-sensory ability known as Eagle Vision.

Trivia

• "Adéwalé" is a variant of the Yoruba name Adebowale, suggested to mean "crown has come home".
• Adéwalé was originally scripted as having been born in Martinique, but this was changed to honor his voice actor Tristan D. Lalla's Trinidadian heritage.
• His Assassin robes in Rogue bear striking resemblance to Edward's Haytham overcoat in Black Flag.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (first appearance)
  • Freedom Cry
• Assassin's Creed: Black Flag
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Memories
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue
• Assassin's Creed: Reflections
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Collection
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game

References

An image gallery is available for Adéwalé